Rebels

Shortly after waking this morning, I looked out the window and noticed a hen foraging for bugs on the far side of the garden.

"That's odd.... I haven't let the birds out yet..."

Then into my visual field walks another hen.

"Hmmmmm, maybe we forgot to lock them in last night?"

Nope. Check out the other windows~no chickens anywhere else in the yard.

So I walk up to the coop to let out the rest of the gang.

About 8 feet from the coop I noticed this:

Over the weekend, HE had put skirting around the base of the coop and filled in with rocks. The chickens really liked to use that area as a dust bath, but then they would create holes large enough to crawl underneath the coop. We began to suspect that they were laying eggs under there~it would explain our drastic reduction in apparent egg production. To solve that problem, HE shored it up.

HE did look underneath before closing it up.

But not well enough.

He buried a couple of those girls underneath the coop

Maybe "buried" is a bit strong.

Trapped sounds good.

Never fear, though: WONDER CHICKEN is here!!

They pecked and clawed and pushed until they detached the skirting, pushed through the crack, tossed that measly piece of wood aside and fed their tired bodies.

Puny humans!

Just as I was getting ready to push the "publish" button, my son peered over my shoulder to see what I was doing (really he just wants to use the laptop).

He proceeded to inform me that his dad had actually pulled open the skirting last night while I was out at a cooking class.

Bummer.

I kinda liked the idea that we have bionic chickens.

Spring Keeps Springing

 

 

Short Stories

The sun tried to make an appearance just before setting tonight, but wasn't successful.

Then the mists rolled in.

And we lit a bonfire.

The end.

Sour Dough Loveliness

Finally after years of thinking "wouldn't it be nice to make homemade sourdough," I no longer have to wish or dream. It's a reality.

I always thought sourdough was very complicated and while there are a lot of details and some planning ahead, it isn't complicated and so worth the effort.

My dear friend, Krista, shared her recipe for baking the bread at a recent class I attended, along with enough starter to get me, well, started!

I didn't ask her whether I could share the recipe with you, so I won't do that here, but there are recipes for sourdough all over the internet. My recommendation would be to ask someone you know who bakes sourdough bread to share some of their starter and walk you through the finer points.

Oh, my. So yummy!

the starter with some additional water and bread flour added

the dough, ready to rise

forgot to take a picture of this dough all puffed up and fairly falling out of the bowl!

risen loaves

baked loaves

A Girl could Get Used to This

I've really enjoyed working in the garden these past days. The weather is so pleasant, with the exception of the whipping wind. But at least it's a warm wind. Past years when it has been cold and windy I would think twice before going outside to work. Being up on a hill with no protection~it can be brutal.

But, eventually you have to get out there and do what needs to get done. You're from Wisconsin after all: you're tough! Made it through the harsh cold, wicked winter--you can handle a bit of wind!

I had always worn that like a badge of pride: you toughed-out the winter, you've earned your spring.

And I have always enjoyed the changing seasons--each of them bringing something different to see, feel and hear--altering the landscape.

But after these two weeks of beautiful, sun-shiny days I am beginning to wonder if maybe, deep-down, I am a fair-weather kind of gal. Maybe moving south to a more temperate climate isn't such a bad idea. I mean, I don't really like to be out in the cold wintry weather--I like to see it from inside my cozy house.

I think of shedding all of those winter layers and heavy boots. No more shoveling and ice-scraping. No more driving on scary, ice-covered roads.

Warm weather brings a more carefree attitude to everything~less preparation, more spontaneity. Need to go out to the chicken coop? Slap on some shoes and head outdoors--no heavy coat, boots, gloves and hat. Anything you do outdoors requires far fewer garments. Think of the money we'd save on wardrobe alone!

My daughter is all for moving south. She just mentioned that she thought she might move to Florida when she gets older. 

But.

I wonder.

Would I miss winter?

Would I appreciate the beauty of spring--if you can even call it spring if there was no winter to precede it?

Maybe one positive aspect of living through a bitter, cold winter is the sheer joy of seeing nature' s bounty come to life again. Would I take that for granted if I lived in a milder climate? Would I revel in it? Or would it be just another day in utopia?

It's impossible to answer these questions, since I am not going anywhere.

and I know this: I would miss curling up with a book by the fire; winter bonfires and hot cider; the sound of the snowflakes as they fall on a mid-winter night; the full moon turning the snow-covered night into a shadowy mystical land.

The spring that follows a full winter brings an awareness that is often missing during the other days of the year.

Gratitude and hope.

It is no wonder our ancestors celebrated the winter solstice and the coming of the light. It is an affirmation of life itself.

I suppose folks in the south have their own kind of winter and spring.

I hope they do.

Cuz this feeling, this sense of being alive, is not to be missed.

The Circle of Life

We held an abbreviated funeral today for a teensy resident on our property, whose death remains a mystery.

I found him under the dried up remains of last year's asparagus fronds. 

At first I thought he was alive and hiding, but quickly realized that he was in fact no longer living. 

I called the kids to come and look.

It is so rare that you get to see a furtive critter like this up close. 

His wee little paws, delicate whiskers and silky fur.  His funny ears and smooth tail. 

He looks like he is sleeping.

I had thought the kids would be interested in looking at him (from a sciencey-kind of stand point) but Aidan just looked sad and Erica slapped her hands over her eyes.

So much for science.

So I asked them if they would like to bury him. 

Aidan suggested we choose a place where he wouldn't get dug up again and seemed concerned that he should also not be mown-over. Erica found a rock and inscribed the letters RIP.

They're nothing if not tender-hearted.

We said a few words~ like how cute he was and that we were

sad he had died. 

Then we placed him in the small hole and covered him over with dirt.

Erica placed her grave marker on top of the bare earth and that was that.

We went back into the garden and continued our clean-up and planting.

I am still puzzling over the mystery of his death. 

A tiny messenger~ giving pause to my day.

Reminding me~ do not take this life for granted.

March is a Lamb

I know this isn't really a news flash, since everyone seems to be enjoying the unseasonable warmth this year. March really seems to be coming in like a lamb. Let's hope it goes out like one, too!

We slept with our windows open the past two nights. Thankfully the kids and I washed and put in all of the screens or we would have been eaten alive by the mosquitoes, who also seem to be thriving in this weather. It seems so early to be keeping the windows open all night (and for mosquitoes). Well, it is early. But sooo enjoyable to listen to the frogs all night long and feel the soft breeze and be awakened in the middle of the night by a loud "meow"!

Yes, one of our kitties came right up to the bathroom window, which is at ground level on the north side of the house and started calling to us--probably she was leaving an offering from her nighttime hunt. I was asleep, but jolted awake immediately thinking "how did a cat get in the house?" The echo in the bathroom made it that much louder. Funny.

Three nights ago I woke up to flashes of light. Thinking perhaps it was the aurora I got up and looked out the window. It appeared to be lightning, but stars filled the sky and there was no thunder. I walked through the house looking out all of the windows and saw an amazing lightning show to the southwest. The frequency and brightness of the lightning indicated a very intense storm.I watched for awhile and went back to bed. I do love storms.

Our bulb flowers are coming up rapidly and the chickens are actually leaving the crocus alone, so that I have a few little spots of color in the lawn. We'll see how the tulips do--our chickens keep pecking at their tender green leaves~they aren't decimated and actually look better than in years past~ hopefully they will leave the flower petals alone.

HE fenced in our little flower garden and lots of things are greening up beautifully in there. The plants now have a fighting chance without the chickens strong claws digging them right out of the ground~now I just have to get the weeds out of their way and in a few months, it will be a beautiful spot on our property.

We got our seeds going again inside: tomatoes (eight varieties), four types of peppers, lots of herbs, all the brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, etc), onions (definitely late to be starting these guys, but we'll do some sets, too), flowers and we started some celery for the first time.

We walked around the property last night as the sun went down and looked at what needs to be done--lot's of weeding and cleaning up. The garden has many dead plants that didn't get pulled out last fall--we ran out of time--broccoli plants, brussel sprouts, kale. On our wanderings we discovered something interesting~the kale overwintered. Well, a bit of it anyway--the plants themselves look completely dead, but growing out from a couple of them were some fresh green kale leaves. Remarkable. 

Lots to do on this little place, but plenty of time to do it.

Spring is such a joyful time to remember how much beauty there is in the world.